I'm a day late, I know, but RL caught up and I've got stuff to do. Plus, I wanna finish up the ACAA post first so I can concentrate on this, so yeah... I'm late. Sorry.
Anyway, one of the defining anime-related moments is definitely the Japan trip, as you'll probably realized from my pilgrimage posts. Unfortunately, I didn't go all the way there just to see the anime stuff; in fact, only Akiba and the pilgrimage has anything to do with it. I've already shared my photos of the K-ON and Lucky Star pilgrimage, so here's the final part.
This is AKB48's base of operation, apparently. I was here in the morning, and although I have no idea when the concert/show/whatever starts, the queue stretches all the way around the building.
I was walking by this arcade as it opens for the day, and they has a very unique way of doing it; before the shutter fully opens, these guys would all run out, high kneel outside in formation, and scream. Did I mention I was walking by right as it opens? For a moment I thought I was punk'd.
This belongs to a machine inside one of those arcades.
I can't remember the name of this game, but it features characters from several series, like To-Heart 2 and Utawarerumono.
I'm not sure, but I think that day was a release date of Atelier no Totori.
You won't know it, but Sengoku Otome Pachinko machines are all rage.
A PS1 going for just 3000 yen, if I remember correctly.
I'm not sure if this is one of the biggest shops there, but this took up 7 or 8 levels, chock full of anime merchandise.
A whole area dedicated for Touhou.
Another area dedicated for Vocaloid. Mostly Miku.
Anime food.
This would be my first time going into a cosplay maid café. It's actually slightly hidden off one of the side alleys, and you won't have guessed that the normal looking building hides a maid café.
I didn't really talk to the waitresses though, because I could hardly communicate. Most of the patrons inside the café are much more normal than I thought.
Inside the AKB48 building. The escalator leads to the stage, which is closed.
The Tokyo Anime Center is apparently just a small exhibition space inside one of the most prominent buildings in the area. When I was there, they were promoting Hanasaku Iroha... they don't feature anything else.
That's all I got of Akiba. This pic, however, is taken inside Mandarake in Shibuya. I took a long time to find this shop, because the entrance isn't really eye-catching, and Shibuya is as confusing as hell. When I got down there (it's underground), this place is HUGE...
Damn, I missed Japan already.
